The present invention relates generally to file systems for the storage of multimedia data. More particularly, the invention relates to an inexpensive, scalable, open-architecture file system that can be used to store and retrieve data with either real-time or high volume requirements.
With the recent advances in networking and storage technologies and expanding multimedia applications, there is an increasing interest in providing improved storage and retrieval of multimedia data. Distant education and training, multimedia entertainment, news editing and distribution, video-on-demand services in hotels and enterprises, multimedia communications, and commercials are some of the applications that are expected to benefit from an improved storage and retrieval process. Multimedia data types include audio and video in a variety of formats as well as text and images.
Increased constraints are placed on the storage and retrieval of multimedia data over traditional textual and numeric data due to inherent differences in the characteristics of the data types. Unlike textual data, multimedia audio and video data, known as continuous media, is sensible only when played back in temporal contiguity. Additionally, continuous media data usually requires a large quantity of storage space and places severe bandwidth demands upon servers. Generally, conventional systems employ a centralized server approach that typically does not scale well to meet increasing bandwidth demands caused by increases in system size.
Therefore it is desirable to provide a file system for multimedia applications wherein clients are interconnected by a highspeed network to network-attached storage systems. It is
Therefore it is desirable to provide a file system for multimedia applications wherein clients are interconnected by a highspeed network to network-attached storage systems. It is additionally desirable for the file system to be adaptable for use with a serverless system or distributed servers wherein the system management load is shared across all the servers. Also, it is desirable for the file system to be scalable in terms of performance as well as implementation simplicity. In addition, it is desirable for the file system to support real-time data operations as well as non-real time data objects. Additionally, it is desirable for the system to provide file security and to gracefully degrade when faults occur.
The present invention provides a multi-media file system for communicating information between a multi-media client and a network storage device over a network. The file system includes a cluster that comprises one cluster manager and at least one file manager with each network storage device. The cluster manager is located on a client, includes an admission controller for controlling the admission of a request from a client for a file operation upon a selected file. A network bandwidth request from the admission controller is responded to by a network status determiner included in the cluster manager. The network status determiner determines the available network bandwidth. Each file manager is located on one of the clients. The file managers manage file maintenance procedures of corresponding files located on the network storage device. Each file manager includes a disk status determiner for determining the available disk bandwidth. The disk status determiner responds to a request from the admission controller.
For a more complete understanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings.